Unknown razor maker- fishy?

So I was searching on eBay, and in a roundabout way, this razor came up-

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I thought it looked great, and a lot like some of the customs on this forum, it's 9/8ths, stylish, etc. However there is no maker's mark so I decided to msg the seller to ask if he was on SRP to find out a bit more, and got a response that he wasn't a member here and that "the finish was coming off the razor" (not even sure what that means, it's steel...) and therefore he couldn't sell it to me. 5 minutes later he sent me another msg offering the same razor, but for half the original price (which was roughly in the ballpark of other customs i have purchased from some of the usual suspects around here, so that didn't immediately throw a red flag). Opinions? Should I walk away from this one? The razor LOOKS legit, but everything else smells a bit odd to me.

Offer him the bridge you have in Brooklyn for sale as an even trade. You'd come out ahead on that one despite the spurious nature of the razor. I'd only swap with no money exchanged.

Maybe he tried to gold wash it ?? The photo is on wood of the same color but that is all I can figure out from the conversation. It looks custom and he should know who made it. At least tell where he got it. Desperate to sell means nothing but to hold info or avoid answers is a giant red flag for me. In fact the red flag is mounted on a big truck with 200 smaller flags under it. Then again the maker might pop up in here and ???


second look.....The spine looks mighty thin.

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Originally Posted by 10Pups

Maybe he tried to gold wash it ?? The photo is on wood of the same color but that is all I can figure out from the conversation. It looks custom and he should know who made it. At least tell where he got it. Desperate to sell means nothing but to hold info or avoid answers is a giant red flag for me. In fact the red flag is mounted on a big truck with 200 smaller flags under it. Then again the maker might pop up in here and ???


second look.....The spine looks mighty thin.

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Yeah it actually looks like Ali's blades to me, and I wasn't concerned about it until the correspondence took an odd turn...

Update- he said there is a "copper coating" (on the spine, if I'm seeing it correctly) although if he is a layman it could be gold wash I suppose...

Copper looking if he put it away wet or left soap on it yep.

It doesn't look China made that's for sure.

If thats a 9/8s then the blade looks 2 inches long to me. I don't know.

I guess it is a different thing, but in the world of vintage pocket knife collecting, back in the '60s and '70s, the rule of thumb was that if a maker didn't think enough of his product to put his name on it chances are it wasn't a quality blade. Hard to say what that is, a foreign made blade with the stamping buffed off to hide where ti originated ? Call it a custom and charge the big $ and see if anyone takes the bait ?

Another update, the seller is saying he made it himself, and said to "ask paul, he's a member at SRP who has bought from me", so if Paul would like to come forward and shed some light, it would be appreciated! :p

Might be just me, and this of course is JMO...but if someone doesn't have the pride in they're work to put their mark on it then it's not for me. Or maybe its the fear of putting out knockoffs :shrug:

I bought a todd Sweeney straight off ebay with olive wood scales, Damascus steel blade, made in Pakistan, would not hold a edge or even sharpen, there was no mention it was made in Pakistan, 46 bucks wasted. I have learned to ask a lot of questions before shelling out my hard earned cash. Good luck with your purchase.

I do remember a guy posting about finding a similar looking razor and buying it off the bay. Basically said the price was worth the risk for him. Said it gave a good shave.

I think the knock off comment came up in that thread and would say it is really similar looking to other custom makers. Two really jump to mine.

So if you look back you might be able to find that thread.

Another thing to think about is while we all love SRP we are not alone in this world of forums.

I am not Paul but I know him, know this razor, and know this makers other razors. His stuff is excellent quality and the seller is aces. Those are great blades.

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Originally Posted by bookdoctor

I bought a todd Sweeney straight off ebay with olive wood scales, Damascus steel blade, made in Pakistan, would not hold a edge or even sharpen, there was no mention it was made in Pakistan, 46 bucks wasted. I have learned to ask a lot of questions before shelling out my hard earned cash. Good luck with your purchase.

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Well this razor was priced comparably to a bonafide custom razor from other big names, which is to say several hundred dollars, so I wasn't so much worried about it being cheap Pakistani junk, I was just hoping he would turn out to be a known entity. So If it's too good to be true, it probably is, I'll save my money .

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Originally Posted by RMarsh

Well this razor was priced comparably to a bonafide custom razor from other big names, which is to say several hundred dollars, so I wasn't so much worried about it being cheap Pakistani junk, I was just hoping he would turn out to be a known entity. So If it's too good to be true, it probably is, I'll save my money .

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See my comment above. It is not too good to be true. The maker creates great blades. If I am correct in my assumption as to what he offered it to you for, it would have been a steal.

I think a maker who has been around a while and a member. Who knows what this mystery holds. The Shadow knows! :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by rbaker2778

See my comment above. It is not too good to be true. The maker creates great blades. If I am correct in my assumption as to what he offered it to you for, it would have been a steal.

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Does he have a name ?

I know when Josh Earl, Joe Chandler, Robert Williams, Mastro Livi, Tim Zowada, and others began selling their handmade razors they wanted to get their name out there on their great blades. Why hide the light under a bushel ?

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Does he have a name ?

I know when Josh Earl, Joe Chandler, Robert Williams, Mastro Livi, Tim Zowada, and others began selling their handmade razors they wanted to get their name out there on their great blades. Why hide the light under a bushel ?

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And Jimmy that's my rub here too, if someone here can vouch for him that's great, but I just wonder about why I haven't heard of this guy. I mean, when I first saw this razor I thought it was very reminiscent of Cedric's "Ali's blades" razors, and that's a huge complement I think. I'm tempted now to just buy the thing out of curiosity and report back on it...

Edit: i committed to buy this razor after thinking about it... His description says money back guarantee and he says he stands by his work, so I'm going to take the chance. There's at least two people here who vouch for his work, If it turns out to be a great shaver, then the maker should get the credit he is due.

I'll vouch for Sprecher, Powell, Rodrigue, Ali...all men who have the pride in their work to put their name on their creations, and ones that I own and use with pride. Hopefully the same pride they had while creating them and putting their name on them. If you can't put your stamp on your work then there's a reason for it, plain and simple. Why would you want to hide your identity if you produce good work???? Maybe it's Batman :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Catrentshaving

I'll vouch for Sprecher, Powell, Rodrigue, Ali...all men who have the pride in their work to put their name on their creations, and ones that I own and use with pride. Hopefully the same pride they had while creating them and putting their name on them. If you can't put your stamp on your work then there's a reason for it, plain and simple. Why would you want to hide your identity if you produce good work???? Maybe it's Batman :rolleyes:

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Totally agree, I have a couple Robert Williams', a Sandor Jenes and and an order in for a rodrigue, I understand the risk on this one, maybe it will work out ;)

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Originally Posted by RMarsh

Totally agree, I have a couple Robert Williams', a Sandor Jenes and and an order in for a rodrigue, I understand the risk on this one, maybe it will work out ;)

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Forgot to add Williams to my rant...sorry...lol

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If the cost is comparable to well know makers, I would think that it makes a lot more sense to buy from a well known maker. After all their name is probably worth something.
Just like a Puma or Filarmonica razor will command a much higher price than a "Gebruder Bauer" (a brand name I just made up), which shaves exactly the same.

But at the end of the day it's your money - there isn't much risk because the seller would take it back if you end up not wanting it. So you get to try it and then decide if it's worth the money to you, if not return it.

The lack of mark is a deal breaker to me. To me, that looks like either the maker did not think much of his work, or he does not want to be associated with it (like the Charlie Lewis knockoffs that don't have a mark). If the price is in the same ballpark as one of the 'known' customs makers, then I would go to one of those instead of taking a nameless brand.

Btw, this is also because I make blades in the hope that they will someday be cherished like we cherish the John Barbers, Mappins, and other vintage blades. If someone finds one of my blades in 100 years time when I am long gone, he can figure out that I made it with some basic research. And then he can probably figure our when it was made, if there was anything special about it, where it came from, who I was, etc. Someone cherishing my razor 100 or 200 years down the line would be awesome. My mark gives the blade identity.

Without a mark, that razor might be old one day, but it will never be anything more than 'just some nameless razor of unknown origins'.

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Originally Posted by Catrentshaving

Forgot to add Williams to my rant...sorry...lol

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+1, I forgot to add Max Sprecher and Charlie Lewis ...... :gaah:

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Originally Posted by Bruno

Without a mark, that razor might be old one day, but it will never be anything more than 'just some nameless razor of unknown origins'.

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It will also be a bit more difficult to get your money out of should you ever decide to thin the herd. "Great no name shaver for sale" wouldn't bring a premium price in the classifieds IMHO. :gl:

Well My name is Paul but I don't know this guy. All the makers I know have a makers mark.
If the person is saying there is some thing wrong with it and will not give his name and "knows someone" on SRP. RUN AWAY!!!!!

Wrong Paul! :roflmao

Well I got this razor in hand, and it is much like the pics describe...
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While it is a bit of a derivative style similar to other "known" makers, I did get his name and found others here who use his razors. The blade face almost looks cast rather than ground, but that's neither here nor there. It came with an edge, which I improved on a naniwa 12k, and it shaves very well, for now. I'm happy with it as an initial impression, but that said I'll be sticking to the makers I know in the future.

Maybe one day he'll find his own style and maybe then he'll put his name on his work.

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Originally Posted by Catrentshaving

Maybe one day he'll find his own style and maybe then he'll put his name on his work.

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Agree completely and I want to be clear that I'm not implying that this is the caliber of the names we all know... but it's something, and I will at least give the guy that much.